Mr. Hugh Smith lived in Monrovia, an unincorporated community in Atchison County, Kansas. The town was platted along on the Missouri Pacific Railroad, but never grew to the size expected by the planners in 1856.

(The US post office in Monrovia was closed in 1955.)

In February of 1912, Hugh received a comic postcard from his friend, Carolyne.

Carolyne was in Atchison, a city on the Missouri River in the northeast corner of Kansas.

Atchison is 15 miles to the east of Monrovia.

The postcard features an original drawing of a gambler sitting at a table with a pile of chips or coins.

The legend reads, “Will take in everything before I leave here”.

The postcard image was copyrighted by F. J. Haffner in 1911.

On the reverse, Carolyne wrote a breezy note indicating that she was “fine and dandy” and discussing the possibility of traveling to meet Hugh on Saturday.

When I first saw this postcard, in a box of I sorted vintage cards, I was struck by Carolyne’s casual mention of spinal meningitis.

A little on-line research shows the advances in understanding in treating spinal meningitis through the early 20th century.

Cases were reported in many parts of the country, but there is no authoritative national data base of incidence of the condition.

There was a notable outbreak of spinal meningitis in the Midwest in 1907 which received a lot of public attention, but I could not find reference to any disease occurrence in Kansas in 1912.

Carolyne’s jocular tone may be the kind of bluster that young, healthy people often adopt toward health risks – or it may be a reference to a previous conversation with mr. Smith.

In any event, one hopes that Carolyne and Hugh enjoyed their friendship for many years to come.